in over and over, continuing so long that finally 

 I grew curious to know how many dips they 

 were taking, and so, in order to count his dives, 

 I singled one out, after most of the flock had 

 done and gone off to hawk. How many he had 

 taken before I marked him, and how many more 

 he took after I lost him among the other birds, 

 I cannot say ; but, standing up in the skiff, I 

 followed him around and around until he made 

 his nineteenth splash,— in less than half as many 

 minutes,— when I got so groggy that his twen- 

 tieth splash I came near taking with him. 



The pond narrows toward the head, and just 

 before it becomes a creek again the channel turns 

 abruptly through the docks in against the right 

 shore, where the current curls and dimples 

 darkly under the dropping branches of great red 

 maple ; then it horseshoes into the middle, com- 

 ing down through small bush-islands and tangled 

 brush which deepen into an extensive swamp. 



June seemed a little tardy here, but the elder, 

 the rose, and the panicled cornel were almost 

 ready, the button-bushes were showing ivory, 

 while the arrow- wood, fully open, was glistening 

 snowily everywhere, its tiny flower crowns fall- 

 9 [129] 



